~ We travel, hunt and gather. We design, build and create. We recycle, reuse and reinvent. CHARTREUSE Virginia Beach, VA offers an eclectic fusion of international antique furniture, mid century modern, vintage pieces, coastal style furniture, original art and unique, found objects. We also custom design and give new life to your furniture in our studio, on site. We offer in-home consultations and design services.

After months of planning to have our Holiday Boutique, it was time to roll up sleeves and get busy. Since I work in my Studio daily, I literally had to wait to the last-minute in order to clear everything out. I’ve planned all along to paint the floor, re-do the walls, get rid of the ugly lights, etc. Having this event on the calendar made it a priority….. as work and opening a new business had kept this on the back burner.

As an artist my mind is always designing and decorating the spaces around me. It’s this blessing of vision, clearly a gift from God, that keeps the wheels spinning and allows me to create. The frustration comes into play because there are not enough hours in the day to create….. and change….. and build….. and invent and seek out.

There have been so many years in my life where I tried to do it all myself. I did do it all and it didn’t work. I could have never reached the point I’m at…. which by the way….. isn’t close to where I’m going…. if I hadn’t surrendered to the fact that it’s not just getting up everyday and working your tail off!

Believe it or not…. this time last year…. I didn’t know I would be here today. I had been struggling to get out of a bad place in my life. My relationship with God was in an OK place, but I hadn’t learned to listen! (my mama would agree for sure…. LOL) Just last Thanksgiving, I didn’t have enough money to buy a turkey to feed my family. Meanwhile, I pressed forward and helped deliver turkeys and all the trimmings to families in need with Wave City Care….. quietly keeping my painful and embarrassing secret. Thank God I sold a piece of furniture that day and was able to buy groceries. Did I mention I was driving a BMW? LOL! Yes, I’ve had a lot of money…… and I’ve lost a lot of money!

I’ve learned that through my blessings, my prayers, my perseverance, my hard work, etc…… that I can’t do it all myself. Without the obvious help from the Big Man…. I could never accomplish my goals and dreams without my family, my friends and those great people I’ve been fortunate enough to have work with me at CHARTREUSE.

I used to have the mentality of “getting by”. I didn’t have the understanding that I needed to take risks and hire people I didn’t think I could afford. I had a hard time asking for help and lacked the confidence to delegate. I’m proud to say that’s no longer my way of thinking. I COULD NEVER HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT HELP! Take a look at the photos. I did a lot of the work…but so did a few other people. And without their help it would never have happened. (see the event photos on facebook for the latest look of the studio)

So…..THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED MAKE THIS DAY POSSIBLE! I LOVE YOU…. I APPRECIATE YOU.

So after spending the night getting ready for this crazy chick named Hurricane Irene….and after making piles….miles high…. After removing precious artwork and my tools…..(gotta have the tools)…. I realized that I had wanted to move some stuff around and needed to go ahead and start the improvements to the studio, office and Vault area!

So….as soon as this chick gets out of town….I’m making some changes! And since we’re not going to be able to continue on with the sale…..I’l have another one next week!

I would like to say thank you to Lorraine and her husband and son who showed up to not only secure their items…..but to help me take care of other artists things! Grace and her daughter also came by and offered help, Tim brought sand bags and Scott schlepped furniture with me while Kelsey ran around doing everything she could!

SO THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HELPED! It’s no coincident that these people are in my life….it’s a blessing.

I GUESS I AM GOING TO ECSC TODAY…..for a minute or two…..before I evacuate! This Irene chick has brought an abundance of sick waves for the surfers and I wanna watch!

It’s Sunday, July 3rd, and the past few days are a bit of a blur. I tried desperately to open Chartreuse on Friday the 1st. It seemed like a good day and that would give me 2 solid days for a soft opening. But, nothing was working out…..rain interrupted painting, paint wasn’t drying, people weren’t cooperating, etc. I conceded. On Thursday I realized that Saturday the 2nd was my father’s birthday, who also passed 11 years ago. With tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat I knew it was the “right” day.

Later that Thursday night, I had a glass of wine and dinner with a total stranger. Her name is Debra and she is already what I call a friend. There is no doubt that she was sent into my life at that exact moment….. in that exact place….. to do exactly what she did. On Friday my friends rallied around me to help me stage, clean and keep my sanity. Tim lifted furniture and schlepped for me all day. Travis drank beer and lifted furniture too. Reba painted the awning at midnight and made me laugh all night. Mason sat in traffic for hours to bring his photographs. Kelly and Scott fed us and Scott hung chandeliers for me at 1 am! We left at 2:30 am. Elyse sent me dozens of encouraging texts and kept me pumped and offered help (which I accepted and she rescued me). Kelly got up at the crack of dawn and helped clean and price items while Tim showed his true dedication to the cause by cleaning the bathroom.

I am afraid to leave people out because it was such a blur of a day….. so in addition to thanking all the above friends…. thank you to all the ones who stopped by and supported me on Saturday. Thank you Pamela for the beautiful chair and fern and all the other things you brought. Elyse, David, Randy, Lesley,Paul, Heidi, Ashley, Phillepe, Sue, etc. My day ended with my new friend dropping by with her man, a bottle of wine, a sunflower and a smile!

Sunday, (not a day I will normally be opened) was full of surprises as well. Thank you to Robert and Alicia, Michelle and Alex (who offered to pass out flyers) and Natalie and Jake. And just when I didn’t think the day could get any better…. a cute couple strolls in and I realize it’s my beautiful friend of 25 years with her handsome husband (who is also the new head coach for baseball at ODU….go blue!) I met some really cool new people too!

Thanks to God, my friends and family, I get to keep making my dreams come true ….. over and over again. Cindy